This is the Roma project, not the Mourinho project – Jose wants club to build a legacy

By Sports Desk September 08, 2021

Jose Mourinho says Roma's project is about creating a legacy for the club, not for himself.

Mourinho led Inter to the treble during the 2009-10 campaign and his return to Serie A has been successful so far, Roma scoring seven goals across their opening two games for just the second time since the 1970s.

It is also the first time since 2014-15 that they have opened with two Serie A wins, defeating Fiorentina 3-1 and Salernitana 4-0, Mourinho becoming the third coach to win his first two top-flight games with the Giallorossi.

However, the former Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United boss declared his ambitions are secondary to those of the club after replacing Paulo Fonseca.

"It’s not the Mourinho project, it’s the Roma project," Mourinho told Serie A's YouTube channel on Wednesday.

"I know the fans, I know the square and if you think that the project is for me to arrive tomorrow and I win the day after tomorrow, it’s not the right path.

"This is a project in which the owners want to leave a legacy, they want to do something very important for the club in a very sustainable way.

"We want Roma to be successful in the future."

By defeating Fiorentina on the opening day, Mourinho became the fastest manager in Serie A history to reach 50 wins (77 games) in the three points for a win era (since 1994-95).

He also holds the record in the Premier League (63 games) and LaLiga (62 games) and claimed spells in those respective leagues have helped him improve since his last experience with Inter.

"I'm much better now, I’m serious," the 58-year-old continued. "I feel improved now because this is a job where experience counts so much.

"Everything becomes a deja vu because I've been through so many experiences since leaving Italy.

"Of course, it's one thing to come to a country for the first time, where you start from scratch, and you have so many things to learn.

"This is not my case, I know Italy, I know the culture of football. I know about Roma, who were my real rival, fighting with us for the domestic titles. Now I'm ready for this."

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